


I like you a latte

by eloquent_apollo



Series: Short stories [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, coffee shop AU, just fluff, just them being happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:08:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23416480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloquent_apollo/pseuds/eloquent_apollo
Summary: Neil just wants to get over his break up with Andrew and Kevin tries to help him by setting him up with one of his friends. Sadly, Neil mispronounces this particular friend’s name, causing him to see how far he can push writing Neil’s name wrong on his coffee order whenever he comes in before Neil gets mad. Turns out writing down Midget was enough to piss him off.orJean gets to have a happy fucking past for once and he is a little shit who flirts by being annoying and mean.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Jean Moreau
Series: Short stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835371
Comments: 3
Kudos: 93





	I like you a latte

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Andreilminycrd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andreilminycrd/gifts).



> I wrote this for my friend Tyla, because I made her upset with too much angst ): Hope this makes you happy <3

Neil just desperately needs to take his mind off of his latest break up. He and Andrew had mutually agreed upon it, but neither had expected it to be tough. They would stay friends, but that just made it much harder. How are you supposed to stay friends with the guy you gave your life to? Neil hadn’t expected that it would upset him this much. He was just about to head back to the dorms after practice to avoid Andrew so he could let his feelings go, when Kevin grabbed him by the wrist and held up Allison’s car keys.

“What?” Neil asked.

“Stop being so down. Come on,” Kevin walked off, a confused Neil following him.

Kevin wasn’t very good at getting his feelings and concerns across; courtesy of living in the nest for so long, so Neil knew that what he meant to say was that he was worried and he just wanted to cheer him up. Neil appreciated it though, so he climbed in next to Kevin who drove him to a cute little coffee shop in town that Renee and Dan had been talking about nonstop. Neil didn’t see why that would help him get over Andrew, until he got out of the car and walked inside with Kevin. At the counter stood a tall man with gorgeous black curls. Neil momentarily forgot how to walk, until Kevin gently dragged him to the counter. The tall barista greeted Kevin with a nod and Kevin gave a smile back. It was a bit of an awkward one, but still genuine nonetheless.

“How can I help you?” The barista, whose name tag revealed that his name was Jean. 

“One black coffee please, Jean,” Neil said, trying not to come across as a mess. 

Clearly it didn’t work, because Jean made an annoyed face when addressed with his own name and wrote his order down. 

“Got a name for that order?” He asked

“Uh… Neil.” 

“Sit. I’ll bring it later.” 

Kevin pointed at a nice table for Neil to sit down at and stayed at the counter to place his own order. He stayed to chat at the counter with Jean for a while, before coming back with two cups of coffee. Neil gratefully accepted his and took the lid off, when Kevin suddenly let out a snort.

“What?” Neil asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Kevin replied.

Neil frowned and turned his coffee cup in his hands, quickly finding the source of Kevin’s amusement. Barista’s often wrote names down on coffee cups and they often got it wrong, but this had been done on purpose. His name was written down as “Meal”, a stupid attempt to horribly butcher his name. Neil looked up back at the counter, where Jean was innocently wiping down the counter. He looked up when he noticed Neil staring at him, and flashed him a grin. Neil only glared before returning back to his coffee. When he finished drinking and Kevin had paid, they returned to Allison’s car and drove back to the fox tower.

“I am so not going back there,” Neil said.

-

2 weeks later he ended up going with Kevin again. He had been nagging him to please go with him so he could work on an essay for his history class and finally Neil had relented. He had some math homework he still had to finish anyway and the coffee shop was always peacefully quiet according to Kevin. Sadly for Neil, the moment he walked in he was greeted with the sight of Jean. As the weather was getting warmer, he had swapped the long sleeved shirt from two weeks ago for a t-shirt that showed off his nice muscles. If Jean hadn’t been so annoying, maybe Neil would have appreciated it more. It didn’t take long for Jean to notice Neil as well, giving him a grin in response when he walked up to the counter.

“The usual?” Jean asked.

“Caramel latte, please,” Neil said.

“The usual for me,” Kevin added.

Jean nodded and wrote their names down on cups and started on making their orders. Before Neil could even try to see what Jean had written down this time, Kevin dragged him to a nice table close to the window, where they sat down together. Neil pulled out some of his books, while Kevin grabbed his laptop and big history books. How anyone could actually read through those books and the countless memoirs of old dead men, Neil would never know. He only briefly watched Kevin flip through a book on Thomas Jefferson before returning to his own math homework. He had to solve a bunch of problems using the log function and what not, so that’d be easy enough. He didn’t think he would spend too long on it. When he was halfway through with his assignment, Jean showed up to give them their cups of coffee. 

“An americano for Kevin, and a caramel latte for Neil.” 

He gave them their cups of coffee. Neil waited for Jean to be gone, before turning it to find what he had written on it this time. It was a jab at his height this time, on the cup Jean had written “Petit souris”, but it cleared something up as well. All this time, Neil hadn’t been able to place the accent Jean spoke with. It was a French accent.

“Oh my god,” Neil groaned.

“What?” Kevin looked up from his computer.

“It’s pronounced _Jean_ , isn’t it?”

Kevin only smiled before returning back to his essay. At least it finally explained why Jean had looked so annoyed when Neil addressed him by his name, because he had pronounced it the English way, not the French way. Neil turns to glare at Kevin, but he’s already absorbed in his book again.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Neil says.

“What?” Kevin looks up.

“It’s pronounced _Jean_. Not Jean.” 

“Oh, that. It was kinda funny, I suppose?” Kevin shrugs.

Neil groans and continued with his homework instead, but he has lost all forms of concentration and instead he starts doodling fox paws on his assignments as he thinks of a way to make it even with Jean.

-

Of course the only way to make it up to Jean is to go to the coffee shop again. Neil doesn’t actually find the time until another week later, but when he does Jean isn’t there. He doesn’t want to come across as a stalker, so he leaves and tries again the next week. As he walks in he immediately spots Jean, who gives him his usual unbothered expression. Neil walks up to the counter and orders his drink. He wants to talk to Jean but the line is too long. Instead he sits down at his usual table and sips his coffee. He hasn’t even checked what Jean had written down this time, instead he busies himself with watching Jean do his work.  
It takes a while for the business to die down and Neil finally allows himself to look at his cup. Just like that, all his intentions of making it up to Jean are gone. He stands up, marches to the counter and slams the cup down in front of a calm and smug looking Jean.

“Midget?” Neil hisses.

“Am I wrong?” Jean asks.

“You know, I was going to apologise for getting your name wrong but fuck it. You couldn’t use that mouth of yours to say I got it wrong? You figured the best way to fix it was to piss me off?” 

Jean hums, calmly making another cup of coffee as Neil rants. He writes something down on it and places it down for Neil. “Consider it an apology,” Jean says before returning to work. 

Neil stares at him for a few seconds before leaving. He almost considers throwing the coffee cup away outside, when he sees what is written on it.  
_For the cute redhead. I'm done tomorrow at 6, pick me up maybe?_  
Neil blinks, looking at the cup as if he’s expecting it to reveal more. Jean asked him out on a date. Jean wasn’t trying to piss him off, he was trying to be annoying and flirt? Neil just starts the long walk home, having only his coffee cup to keep him company.

-

The following day he does show up at 6 to pick Jean up from the coffee shop. He’s wearing a floral blouse and black pants, making Neil in his palmetto hoodie feel kind of underdressed. He had started to doubt if it really was a date so he didn’t want to overdress, but apparently Jean didn’t share his concerns.

“I’m surprised you came,” Jean admits.

“I’m surprised you asked.” 

Jean only shrugs and gestures for Neil to follow him. Jean took him to a hiking trail through the nearby forest. Neil hadn’t ever been before, so he let Jean grab his hand and guide him through the scenery. It was so quiet, away from the people. It gave Jean and Neil to just talk and only pay attention to one another. Neil still wasn’t good at talking much about himself, so he listened to jean as he told him stories about him and his mother, how they escaped their abusive father in Marseille and moved to America when he was still young. He listened to the stories about his stepdad and the two older sisters he brought along when they moved in, how he didn’t trust his sisters or his stepdad. He listened to Jean laughing as he told him stories about his grandfather- his papi, he called him- and how it was his papi that made him feel welcome in his stepdad’s family. Neil feels comfortable and even begins to share a few small truths, like how both his parents are dead, how he came to Millport running away as an orphan.He shares stories of the foxes, because those are the easiest truths to reveal. Jean never once asks him about his childhood, never once asks him about his biological family, and Neil has a feeling that Jean just sort off seems to understand that Neil’s only real family is a found one. Jean continued taking Neil further into the forest, listening to Neil until they found a big opening. Neil immediately stopped talking as he looked up at the sky. He hadn’t ever seen that many stars before tonight, Neil could only stare up in awe as he held Jean’s hand gently.

“It’s so… wow,” Neil said

“I know.” 

Neil could hear the smile in Jean’s voice, but he still wanted to turn to see it. The stars were momentarily forgotten as  
Neil stared at Jean’s gorgeous face in the moonlight. It didn’t take Jean long before he realised Neil was watching him rather than the sky, so he turned to face him and smiled.

“Seeing something you like?” 

Neil blushes but nods, gently pulling Jean closer so he can gently press his lips against Jean’s. The kiss is brief but sweet, it leaves Neil with butterflies in his stomach as they watch the night sky for a little longer, until it gets cold and they have to start heading back. They don’t talk much on their way back, but their hands remain intertwined the whole way back to the little coffee shop.

“Come see me again tomorrow?” Jean asks.

Neil responds with kissing Jean firmly on the lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Tyla i love you but I'll never accept that it's pronounced the english way (:
> 
> Anyway! I hope you all liked this (: if you did come say hi to me on my [ tumblr](https://eloquent-apollo.tumblr.com) maybe?


End file.
